PNL-PD alliance, cautious step-by-step approach

The opposition parties, PNL (National Liberal Party) and PD (Democrat Party) are trying to overcome their doctrine and electoral segment differences to find common points to lead them to a preelectoral alliance. Both the liberals and the democrats tacitly admit that none of them makes a viable alternative to PSD (Social Democrat Party) for the elections likely to take place next year, if they run on their own. The latest polls show PD to have 12% of the total votes and PNL 14%.
Encouraged by an opinion poll released last year and showing a PNL-PD alliance stood chances of winning, the leaders of the two parties began testing waters, even though with extreme caution. The first concrete discussion about an alliance between PNL leader Teodor Stolojan and PD leader Traian Basescu was held in November, but word about it spread much later, as the leaders of the two parties have just confirmed it.
At the same time, the liberals and the democrats want to give the alliance a try first and actually discuss the alliance later if the trial period goes well.
In other words, PNL and PD will sign co-operation protocols for the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in February, when the Parliament session opens.
“PNL and PD co-operation has proven efficient many times. We wanted to institutionalise this co-operation by signing the protocol with PD, in order to make the Opposition’s legislative activity more consistent, as well as to provide a more efficient opposition to PSD’s tendencies to restrict the liberties earned in December 1989,” Theodor Stolojan told Ziarul Financiar.
He says that in the event this trial period does not produce the desired results, the liberals will not go for an alliance.
“I think we will best see how efficiently we can work with PD the moment the protocol between the parliamentary groups comes into effect. We will not go for an alliance if we feel it is an artificial and weak one, if we do not know for certain that there is an indisputable compatibility between our visions,” Stolojan explained.
The liberal leader is concerned about the possibility of history repeating, that is the experience of the former majority coalition, comprised of PNL, PD, PNTCD (Peasants Party) and UDMR (Democratic Union of Magyars in Romania). Stolojan was a mere bystander at that time, as he became a PNL member before the 2000 elections.
The democrats are concerned about how the lower PD levels will assimilate the relation with PNL. The party leaders yesterday decided to recommend the county organisations to sign co-operation protocols with the similar organisations of PNL, PD leader Traian Basescu announced.
“We believe that a PD-PNL alliance cannot work unless we build trust between the internal structures of the two parties first,” Basescu explained.
Besides the bilateral negotiations, PNL and PD continue to separately prepare for elections.